Oscars Snub for Demon Slayer Despite Record-Breaking Box Office Run

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has officially unveiled the nominations for the industry’s most prestigious honor, revealing the final contenders for the 98th Academy Awards.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle Part 1 was notably absent from the list of nominees for Best Animated Feature, despite high expectations from fans and industry observers.

The exclusion comes as a disappointment to many, particularly after the film was recognized as the sole Japanese nominee at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards earlier this awards season.

Produced by animation studio ufotable and based on the best-selling manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, the film depicts the intense beginning of the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons within the dimension-warping Infinity Castle.

Whilst the film has achieved massive commercial success with a domestic box office gross of 39.08 billion yen, ranking it second only to the franchise’s own record-breaking Mugen Train, it failed to secure a spot among the final five Oscar contenders.

This outcome mirrors the trajectory of its predecessor, as Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train also failed to garner a nomination during the 93rd Academy Awards despite its historic financial performance.

The Academy Awards have historically been a difficult arena for Japanese animation outside of Studio Ghibli, with Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron being the only Japanese winners in this category to date.